Eastern Va. Year-in-Review: Striking a balance

Economic development directors often try to balance diversifying their community’s industries while playing to regional strengths.

Sean Washington, Norfolk’s economic development director, believes his city found that balance in 2023.

Norfolk has found growth around alternative energy, with Lambert’s Point being developed into a launching point for an offshore wind energy hub at Fairwinds Landing.

“You want a good balance … taking care of the tax base and job base but bringing in new business verticals (that draw investment),” Washington says.

The Hampton Roads region’s strengths remained evident this year, with a slew of economic development announcements and expansions, ranging from maritime industries to a federal technology research hub.

“If you’re not growing, frankly, as a city, as a region, you’re dying,” says Hampton Roads Alliance President and CEO Doug Smith. “The key is you’ve got to diversify in areas where you have strengths.”

Chesapeake

Chesapeake’s Coastal Virginia Commerce Park may land its first tenant by this summer, according to Deputy City Manager Brian Solis. Hampton Roads’ lone industrial megasite, it has attracted attention from companies in advanced manufacturing, sustainable energy and energy storage and battery manufacturing.

The Chesapeake Economic Development Authority entered into a contract in 2022 to purchase the commerce park’s 1,420-acre site for $37 million, with an option to buy 2,600 adjacent acres for $54 million.

Additionally, in October 2023, Chesapeake– based railway track maintenance equipment manufacturer Plasser American opened its new, $50 million-plus, 82,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, which is anticipated to create about 100 jobs.

Newport News

The U.S. Department of Energy selected Jefferson Lab as the lead on its new$300 million to $500 million High Performance Data Facility Hub alongside partner Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The computing and data infrastructure research hub is expected to create 150 jobs.

The state has committed to more than $40 million in funding, and the project will have an annual operational budget of $75 million once it ramps up in 2028.

“High-quality research data is the rocket fuel of the artificial intelligence era and all other forms of emerging technologies,” DOE Under Secretary for Science and Innovation Geraldine Richmond said in a statement.

Norfolk

Newport News Shipbuilding started production in November 2023 at its new Norfolk campus, located at Fairwinds Landing, a maritime operations and logistics center supporting Hampton Roads’ offshore wind, defense and transportation industries. Workers have already started building steel panels for the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise.

The eight-acre expansion frees up space at HII’s Newport News shipyard and will employ about 150 workers this year. Newport News Shipbuilding has invested about $25 million on the campus, a figure that could grow to $100 million over the next five years.

Also, Norfolk-based Lyon Shipyard announced an $8.5 million expansion in September 2023, creating 134 jobs. Lyon is increasing its capacity to work on commercial ships and vessels servicing Dominion Energy’s $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm under construction off the Virginia Beach coast.

Belgium-based Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering (DEME) Group, a contractor in offshore energy, will add 40 jobs to aid in project management with the offshore wind project, which will install 176 wind turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Fugro, based in the Netherlands, announced 15 jobs as it provides engineering and geodata services to the offshore wind industry.

Another alternative energy company, solar-panel installation company Top Tier Solar Solutions, will add 70 jobs.

Meanwhile, Armed Forces Brewing announced in July 2023 it would relocate its headquarters to the former O’Connor Brewing facility in Norfolk. The $5 million investment was expected to create 47 jobs.

In March 2023, Advanced Integrated Technologies, a ship repair contractor for the Navy and Coast Guard, announced a $500,000 expansion, adding 76 jobs. Located in the Norfolk Industrial Park, AIT works on maintenance and modernization for non-nuclear Navy amphibious ships.

Furthermore, Norfolk will see hundreds of new jobs through the addition of Princo and a local expansion from McLean-based Fortune 500 federal contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.

A joint venture of Premier, Caretrust and Vario Labs of Virginia Beach, Princo began hiring in March 2023 for its new $18 million health care products manufacturing facility. Princo is expected to hire a total of 284 workers and could expand its capital investment by an additional $5.7 million.

As for Booz Allen, it announced in August 2023 that it will establish a business services center in Norfolk, and will add at least 200 jobs in the next couple of years to the more than 1,000 associates it already employs in the region.

Also, Katoen Natie Norfolk, a plastics and polymers warehousing and distribution company, announced a $60 million expansion on Thanksgiving Day 2023, with plans to create 76 jobs. The Norfolk location will add a 450,000-square-foot warehouse and rail yard.

“Due to its central location on the East Coast, great workforce including former military, dual rail service via Norfolk Southern and CSX, and natural deep-water, great-functioning port, we chose Norfolk for our expansion,” Katoen Natie President Frank Vingerhoets said in a statement.

Suffolk

Toronto-based Automatic Coating announced in September 2023 it will bring a $23 million facility to Suffolk, adding 50 jobs. The company produces corrosion protective coatings for maritime and industrial applications. Additionally, Netherlands-based Eska Graphic Board, a producer of fiberboard for packaging, game boards and books, announced a $5 million expansion in November 2023, adding nine jobs.

Meanwhile, Wilmington, Delaware-based Solenis, a producer of specialty chemicals for water-intensive industries, announced plans in January for a $193 million expansion in Suffolk, adding 34 jobs.

Portsmouth

Amid failing turbine components and financial challenges, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy in November 2023 canceled plans for a $200 million offshore wind-turbine blade manufacturing facility at the Port of Virginia’s Portsmouth Marine Terminal. The news came just a few weeks after the first eight wind-turbine foundation posts for Dominion Energy’s $9.8 billion offshore wind farm arrived at the terminal.

However, in January, Portsmouth celebrated the one-year anniversary of Rivers Casino Portsmouth. The first permanent casino to open in Virginia, it brought in about $250 million in revenue for 2023, generating more than $15 million in local tax revenue.

Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach announced in February that Charles E. “Chuck” Rigney Sr. is the city’s permanent economic development director, after serving in an interim capacity since June 2023. A mainstay in regional local government, Rigney previously led economic development for Norfolk, Hampton and Portsmouth.

Last year, Virginia Beach racked up three of the state’s 10 largest job announcements, totaling more than 1,700 jobs. The largest of those announcements will see Amazon.com add 1,100 jobs and invest $350 million to build a robotic fulfillment center and delivery station. Already under construction, the facilities will open in late 2024 and 2025, respectively. (See related story.)

Additionally, Doma Technologies, a cloud-based document management company, announced in November 2023 a $4 million expansion. Its new 69,000- square-foot headquarters will host 500 employees within the next three years.

And following a June 2023 announcement, Israeli shipping and cargo company Zim Integrated Shipping Services is launching a $30 million expansion of its U.S. headquarters over the next five years.

Similarly, Dorman Products, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of aftermarket automotive driveline parts, will add 76 jobs, investing $4 million in an expansion, while Hermes Abrasives, a German producer of industrial abrasive materials, will add 30 jobs and invest $6 million over the next five years.